Club Is Ex-cops' Lifeline To Nyc

10-13 Helps Protect Benefits

New York City police officers know that if they hear a signal "10-13" over the radio, one of their own needs help.

So 10-13 seemed a logical choice to name a club formed decades ago for retired police, transit and housing authority officers.

The original 10-13 Club was formed in New York about 20 years ago, not only as a social club for retired officers, but also as a lobbying group to help protect their retirement benefits. Chapters sprung up around the country, including one in Palm Beach County, which meets monthly in Boynton Beach and draws 160 members from around the county.

"It keeps the retirees informed as to what's going on in New York City," said Bert Burkett of Delray Beach, who retired as a patrolman in 1972.

He said the 10-13 Club fought for years to get cost-of-living increases for retirees' pension benefits.

"A lot of things have changed over the years for benefits, like what benefits your spouse qualifies for,'' said Boynton Beach's Jim Andrade, president of the local chapter. "The club helps keep track of that." Andrade retired in 1976 as a sergeant in the traffic unit.

While officers are still on active duty, they are represented by whatever union corresponds with their rank: officer, sergeant or detective.

But once officers retire, they lose the benefit of union representation. For years, there was no one looking out for retirees' needs, no one to answer questions when changes were made to their benefits.

The 10-13 Club changed that.

Andrade moved to South Florida in 1995. He has two children and his son is about to retire from the NYPD.

"Basically, it became an organization to help retired cops, to help get legislation passed to protect our benefits," Andrade said.

Stu Kessler retired in 1993 as a lieutenant in the Staten Island street crime unit. He has lived in Lake Worth since 2002.

"There are about 37,000 active police in the NYPD and another 40,000 retirees," Kessler said.

Jim Mooney, editor of the Palm Beach County chapter's newsletter, retired in 1988 as a captain after 34 years, mostly in management information systems, setting up crime-fighting databases. He has lived in Boynton Beach since 1992.

"The idea was to unify all the retirees, to make sure someone was fighting on our side," Mooney said.

"The vast majority of the members are police, but 10-13 also represents transit police and housing police," said Fred Solomon, who handles publicity for the local chapter.

He retired in 1999 as a detective/lieutenant in the narcotics division, and, like Kessler, has lived in Lake Worth since 2002.

The main 10-13 Club in New York represents all the chapters around the country, going to the New York state capitol in Albany to lobby for benefits. There are 14 chapters around the country with about 20,000 members.

The police unions lobby for their own interests, and retirees have felt at times that active members have tried to undermine their benefits during contract negotiations.

"This club defends against the economic erosion of our benefits," Mooney said.

But the group also acts as a social outlet for the retirees, who banded together as officers and often lose that kinship after they retire. They hold holiday parties and fund-raisers.

Guest speakers attend meetings to talk about current events.

"Without 10-13, we would not be up to date," Kessler said.

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What: Palm Beach County 10-13 Club for retired New York City police, transit and housing authority officers